This invention relates to a bottom board for a bee cultivation apparatus having provisions for safely and unobtrusively removing parasite infestation.
The cultivation of bees is well known as a means for the commercial production of honey, as well as a hobby for many, including children interested in learning about the hierarchy and work production of bees.
In general, a beehive maintained either commercially or by a hobbyist comprises a box in which bees build a honeycomb in which the honey that they produce is stored. For purposes of this application, the manufactured box in which the bees form the honeycomb will be referred to as the beehive.
The beehive generally has a fixed top and bottom and includes an exclusion device to keep the queen bee isolated. A bottom board is a generally rectangularly shaped box or frame upon which the rest of the beehive is stacked which allows bees to enter and exit the beehive while keeping out other insects, mice, and other rodents. The bottom board includes a gap on or in one of the four upstanding walls through which bees enter and exit the beehive.
The upper elements of a beehive include vertical panels mounted in at least one box like chamber. Bees work to build a honeycomb on the vertical panels and fill the honeycomb with honey. The operator of the hive then removes the vertical panel and accesses and removes honey from the honeycomb.
Prior to the present invention, the bottom board of a beehive was essentially as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,682,380 to Martin. The bottom board comprised a flat board at its base with three upstanding walls to support the remainder of the beehive. A gap is provided between two of the upstanding walls to provide access for the bees to enter and exit the beehive. To restrict access into and out of the beehive, it is well known to limit the size of the gap to keep out other larger insects, as well as mice and other rodents. A typical solution has been to provide a bottom board having a fourth upstanding wall that bridges the gap between the two upstanding walls, and providing a small opening or openings in the fourth upstanding wall through which bees enter and exit the beehive.
In 1987 the problem of VARROA mite infestation of bees in North America became apparent. A VARROA mite is an external parasite which attaches itself to a bee and reproduces and quickly spreads to other bees in the beehive. The problem presented by VARROA mite infestation is significant because, if the mites go untreated, an entire culture of bees can be eliminated within two years. A number of devices and methods have been developed and implemented to detect and eliminate VARROA mites to sustain the health of the bees that may otherwise fall victim to infestation.
The VARROA mites, as an external parasite of bees, are prone to fall off the bees, a characteristic that allows easy detection of infestation. It is common to find VARROA mites on the bottom board of a beehive after infestation has occurred, those mites falling off the bees as they were inside the beehive. U.S. Pat. No. 4,867,731 utilizes this characteristic of the VARROA mite to determine the presence or absence of VARROA mite infestation. The ""731 patent specifically comprises an insert which slides through an access opening and is placed on the bottom board of a beehive. The ""731 insert includes a sticky trapping surface that is positioned under a fine mesh screen. After the ""731 device is inserted into the beehive mites that fall off bees in the beehive while over the fine mesh screen fall through the screen and onto the sticky trapping surface. The screen is such that it will permit VARROA mites to pass through while keeping bees from passing therethrough. When the VARROA mites contact the sticky trapping surface they are essentially rendered immobile to prevent reattachment or reinfestation by the mites.
The ""731 device has a number of disadvantages. First, the fine mesh screen is mounted on an insert frame so, around the perimeter of the screen there is a safe landing surface comprising the frame members on which mites can safely fall without contacting the sticky trapping surface and from which they can scale the walls and reattach to and reinfest the bees. Second, the ""731 insert is installed and removed through the same access opening through which bees enter and exit the beehive. This is disadvantageous because it is intrusive to the bees and negatively affects their production. Installing and removing the ""731 device at the access opening utilized by the bees is also disadvantageous because, particularly for hobbyists, novices and children who maintain a beehive, a much greater risk of being stung by one of the bees is created. Third, the ""731 is disadvantageous because the positioning and nature of the trapping surface are flawless as a means for trapping the mites. Specifically, if the mite falls through the screen but not onto the trapping surface, or if a mite falls upon other debris already on the trapping surface, the mite will not be stuck and can scale the walls of the bottom board and reattach to a bee.
There is thus identified a need for a beehive construction incorporating a mite trapping device that may be installed and removed without interfering with bees entering and exiting the beehive and which eliminates the safe landing areas for mites that fall off the bees while in the beehive, and which includes provisions to keep mites that fall onto the sticky trapping surface from getting to the walls and scaling the walls to reattach to the bees in the beehive.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a beehive having a mite trapping device that aids in the elimination of VARROA mites without increasing the risk to the operator of being stung.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a beehive having mite trapping provisions that is unobtrusive to bees working in the beehive.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a beehive with mite trapping provisions comprising a sticky board that is accessible from the rear of the beehive.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a beehive having a screen permanently built into and covering the entire area enclosed by the upstanding walls of the bottom board.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a beehive having a sticky sub-board that is readily accessible from the beehive to remove mites stuck thereto without interfering with bees entering and exiting the beehive.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a sticky sub-board for a beehive having perimeter enclosing means preventing mites from reattaching and reinfesting bees in the beehive.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a beehive having a bottom board that remains functional during removal, maintenance and replacement of a sticky sub-board received therein.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a beehive having a bottom board that does not necessitate a solid bottom to keep separate parasites from bees in the beehive while keeping vermin from entering ""said beehive.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from a review of the following specification and accompanying drawings.
The present invention comprises a beehive, specifically the bottom board of a beehive, that has a screen permanently installed in it. The bottom board of the present invention comprises upstanding walls, and the screen permanently installed in the bottom board covers the full expanse between the upstanding walls. By permanently installing the screen such that it extends from wall to wall of the bottom board, there are no areas for the mites to land around the perimeter of the screen which would allow mites to avoid passing through the screen.
The preferred embodiment of the present invention also comprises a removable sub-board that is removable from the bottom board through a rear access means. The sub-board is positioned below the screen which is permanently installed in the bottom board so that, when the sub-board is installed in the bottom board, mites will pass through the screen and land on the sub-board. In a critical feature of the present invention, the sub-board is accessible through a rear access means that is installed opposite to the front wall of the bottom board, the bees entering the beehive through slots in the front wall. This is a distinguishing feature of the present invention because it allows for removal and replacement of the sub-board with minimal intrusion on the bees which necessarily minimizes, the risk of being stung.
The rear access means for the sub-board comprises a slot in the rear wall and slots in the side walls in which the sub-board is free to slide in and out. In the most preferred embodiment of the present invention the sub-board is covered with a sticky substance to create a sticky sub-board that acts as a trap for mites. The sticky substance holds the parasite and prevents reattachment to a bee in the beehive.
The sticky sub-board of the present invention has an additional feature to prevent reattachment and re-infestation of the mites into the bees. A perimeter enclosing means around the perimeter of the sticky sub-board ensures that any mites that fall onto the sticky sub-board cannot be reintroduced onto bees into the beehive because a perimeter rim is formed on the top of the sub-board by a front member, two side members and a rear member. For sticky sub-boards having a perimeter rim, the bottom board is modified to provide larger slots to accommodate the rim members of the thicker sub-board. The perimeter members of the sub-board are sized so that those members are always recessed within the slots in the rear wall, side walls and front wall to avoid the creation of any surfaces upon which mites could land from which they could scale the walls to reinfest the bees. The perimeter members are notched near the sub-board and the notch filled with a sticky substance that precludes their movement, to keep the mites from being able to get off the sticky substance and get to a wall that they could scale and reattach to a bee.
The present invention provides a bottom board for a beehive that incorporates changes made to make the treatment of mite problems safer for the user and which improve the effectiveness of the mite eradication therefrom. A permanently installed screen that covers the entire bottom board is advantageous because there is no rim or framework onto which mites can land from which they could scale the walls and re-infest the bees in the beehive. A sticky sub-board is provided that is accessible through the rear of the beehive to keep the user away from the bees going into and out of the beehive. In a further detailed element of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the sticky sub-board has notched rim members that allow a trapping substance to be installed in the notches. The placement of the sticky substance creates a perimeter around the sticky sub-board that mites will not be able to bridge.